Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, muay That, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. A common practice has been to practice self defense techniques with a training partner, using either no body contact at all or some degree of contact, but with a range of padding accessories worn by both partners in order to protect both partners against injury. A person involved in MMA may not always have a willing and capable partner available when the person wants to practice. Further, it may be preferable to teach and practice many MMA skills without using a human opponent.
A type of device that can be used in the teaching and practice of MMA is commonly referred to as a grappling dummy which can be man-shaped, bag-like or have a variety of other shapes. A grappling dummy serves as a mock opponent for a user to learn MMA skills and to practice his or her exercise routine. Having a dummy as a martial arts training device allows an MMA student or participant to practice skills such as kicks, punches and so forth at his or her convenience and as often as desired.